Zeller named to Wooden Award Midseason List

Adding to his list of numerous accolades through his freshman season, forward Cody Zeller received another Tuesday when he was one of 25 players selected to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason List.

The Wooden Award acts in a similar sense to the Heisman Trophy in college football. The student athletes are judged on progress toward graduation and maintaining a 2.0 GPA, as well as a small amount of postseason performance. The field will be whittled down to 20 in March, and the Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

Zeller is one of three freshmen named to the list and is averaging 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season.

Kentucky has the other two freshmen on the list with forwards Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Ohio State (William Buford and Jared Sullinger) and North Carolina (Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall) joined the Wildcats as the only teams with multiple players on the list. Sullinger is the only player from last year’s list to make the list this year.

Michigan State’s Draymond Green rounds out the four Big Ten players who make up the list. The Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East Conference also have four players on the list.